Billy Mackenzie navigating through one of the deep Conondale ruts. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Billy Mackenzie has taken a philosophical approach to his Conondale performance and , despite a days of ups and downs, the Scotsman retains a positive attitude.

Coming into round one of the Monster Energy MX Nationals, Mackenzie as always was considered a top contender for the win, unfortunately for him, luck did not go his way.

A big crash and subsequent DNF in the first moto proved costly, coming back with a seventh and a third in the final motos saw Mackenzie finish up the day with 10th overall in the MX1 class.

“It was a bit of a rough start to the season. I had a bad start and few crashes in the first race,” said Mackenzie. “I made a slow progression from the first race to the last but I leave on a positive note.

“I got 3rd in the last race behind Ben and Josh so I felt like I was riding pretty well.

“Overall we did alright. Obviously the one DNF in the first race was the main problem.”

Mackenzie will be looking to eliminate all mistakes at round two and get himself on the top spot of the podium.